Educational model

Stages and methods

Our work is based on a commitment to bring out the best in our students and guarantee them a high level of personal development that will ensure their successful transition to higher education.

To achieve this we have a solid academic curriculum with clear pedagogical objectives in all the areas that comprise an integral education.

We also offer comprehensive training in cognitive skills and learning tools. We seek not only to equip students with knowledge but to enable them to apply it in any area of ​​their lives. A good education is the best parental legacy.

Our school offers the following stages: Preschool, Primary and Secondary.

Preschool (ages 1-6)

First cycle:

2nd year – ages 1-2 (Bears).

3rd year – ages 2-3 (Ducks).

Second cycle:

1st year – ages 3-4 (Bees).

2nd year – ages 4-5 (Giraffes).

3rd year – ages 5-6 (Beavers).

All of our preschool stages follow the SUNRISE methodology, in which children are the protagonists. Each child builds their own learning experience through scenarios, projects, games, experiments, collaborative learning and problem-based learning. This methodology allows students to enjoy their learning process, thus fostering each student’s intrinsic motivation and sustained attention, both of which are key components of knowledge acquisition.

Primary school (ages 6 -12)

The school currently has dual single-sex programmes for each age from the 1st to the 6th years of primary school. Same-sex classroom instruction is employed at all levels. Non-teaching activities, including play time and dining, are mixed. We make optimal use of both modalities. Our students receive single-sex classroom instruction, while recreational spaces, canteens, extracurricular activities, cultural outings, etc. are mixed. This system strengthens personal bonds between students, while also giving siblings more opportunities for interaction in their daily school routine.

Secondary school

Our primary and secondary programmes follow the SUNRISE pedagogical methodology, which is based on teaching by competences: not only does it provide students with knowledge, but it also enables them to apply it at any time and in any area of their lives.

Main areas:

Self-knowledge and formation for positive coexistence and leadership.

Physical and social environment.

Communication, reasoning and artistic sensibility.

Single-sex classroom instruction:

Single-sex instruction is an innovative feature found in some of today’s leading educational models. Based on the notion that educational objectives are the same for boys and girls, single-sex education uses a specialised teaching style for each sex which takes into account their specific qualities and maturation rates and hence ensures true equality of opportunity. We place the children in different classrooms to optimise their development and learning potential.

Educational approach

Personalised attention and an integral education are our reasons for being

1 · We educate people to find happiness based on love, respect, virtue and Christian values.

2 · We develop the public speaking and debate skills in English and Spanish that are necessary in today’s world.

3 · Sport is a key element because of the values ​​it transmits.

4 · We foster a spirit of solidarity.

5 · We strive to create a family-friendly ambience forged from bonds of trust between families and the school.

Academic excellence and methodological innovation

At each stage, from the age of 1, project work is implemented through the Sunrise methodology. This international programme of methodological innovation makes students the protagonists of their own learning. Through active methodologies based on the theory of multiple intelligences, which takes into account the singularity of each child, we fulfil the real needs of 21st century students. We put today’s best pedagogical and technological tools at your disposal in order to favour the development of cognitive skills and prepare pupils not only for their academic and professional future, but for life.

Bilingual education

We prepare pupils for a bilingual, globalised world. At all stages, 50% of subjects are taught in English and 50% in Spanish.

Cambridge International Examinations

Highlands School Los Fresnos (HSLF) has recently received the approval to join the Cambridge International Examinations international network.

This program, which started to be implemented in the 2016-17 school year, will give our students the opportunity to complete their pre-university studies with a double qualification: Bachillerato and A Levels.

Cambridge qualifications (A Levels) are world wide recognized, valued and accepted by the top universities and companies, including the Ivy league universities.

Globally, these qualifications are a benchmark of quality in international education.

Cambridge programmes and qualifications accompany students through their primary, secondary and Pre-U education in a passionate journey of knowledge and competences acquisition.

Cambridge International Examinations opens doors to students in the best universities all over the world including Ivy league universities in the UK, USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

All british universities and more than 450 universities in the United States recognize Cambridge International Examinations qualifications standing out names such Harvard, MIT, Stanford and Yale.

We are a Cambridge Examination Centre

We believe in the importance of language as a fundamental vehicle for personal development within a multicultural environment. For that reason, our pre-school classes are taught 50% in English and 50% in Spanish, this being the time in a child’s life when they are most receptive to learning new linguistic skills.

We are an official Cambridge examination centre and pupils have the opportunity to obtain the most widely recognised English language certificates, such as the First Certificate in English (FCE), the Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) and the Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE).

In Secondary education, we also offer German as an additional language.

As a bilingual school, we are a University of Cambridge examination centre. Highlands School Los Fresnos prepares and enters its pupils at the school itself so that they are able to achieve these prestigious certifications.

At our school pupils have the opportunity to achieve these qualifications during the following academic years: Starters (2nd Grade Primary), Movers (3rd Grade Primary), KET (Key English Test) (5th Grade Primary), PET (Preliminary English Test) (6th Grade Primary). In addition pupils will have the option of carrying out officially recognised courses abroad. (OAK Academies – international centres belonging to the same Congregation in Dublin, Switzerland and the USA).

Study abroad

Highlands School Los Fresnos gives an integral education to your kids at our academies in Ireland, Switzerland, Deutschland, France and United States.

Training at HSLF

Teacher training

Our entire teaching staff, comprised of more than 60 professionals with a longstanding vocation and daily commitment to bringing out the best in our students, undergo a constant process of training by the school and the institution. Thus, in accordance with their stage, all participate in a complete methodological innovation training programme (chess, cooperative learning, ABP, etc.), receive training specific to the mission of Regnum Christi schools, and stay abreast of new technologies (iPad, robotics, etc.).

Members of each Academic Coordination staff receive specific training in their field (English)

Parents’ school

Highlands School Los Fresnos offers each of the school’s families a complete Parents’ School for the parents of children at all stages, as well as a specific affective-sexual formation programme for parents of students in the 5th year of Primary to the 4th year of Secondary school.

HSLF sport programme

Swimming is life

At Highlands School Los Fresnos all students from age 3 to the 3rd year of Secondary school enjoy swimming as part of their class schedule. A team
of specialised swimming instructors teach them classes from the 1st year of Preschool through Secondary school. The school organises public swimming lessons for parents of preschoolers so that they can see first-hand the progress of their children in the pool.

HIGHLANDS SCHOOL LOS FRESNOS IS AN ACCREDITED INSTITUTION IN THE “SWIMMING IS LIFE” PROGRAMME
The Spanish Royal Swimming Federation and the Spanish Sports Council have accredited Highlands School Los Fresnos to participate in the “Nadar es Vida” (Swimming is life) programme. It entails certification that combines the standards for swimming instruction endorsed by the Spanish Royal Swimming Federation and the Spanish Sports Council with those from leading international methods. Through “Nadar es vida”, Highlands School Los Fresnos students receive regulated and accredited instruction in this sport as part of the school’s curriculum.

Education Network

We form part of a larger whole…

This school forms part of a network of centres dedicated to the formation, education and evangelisation of children and adolescents. It is a member of the Regnum Christi, a movement of the Catholic Church whose mission is to extend the Kingdom of Christ in society by fostering the experience of a personal encounter with the love of God. It works closely with bishops, local churches and their pastoral programmes.

Reial Monestir de Santa Isabel – Barcelona

Universidad Francisco de Vitoria – Madrid

… and around the world

Today, the Regnum Christi has a network of schools and universities all over the world:

154 schools in 17 countries and 35 Mano Amiga schools for underprivileged children in 9 countries. The Mano Amiga schools were created out of the need to help the development of the most disadvantaged communities through the education of their children and adolescents. There are also 13 universities in the USA, Mexico, Chile, Italy and Spain.

More than 60 years experience educating, teaching and evangelising individuals.